by Diane Keaton
First published 2012
Diane Keaton opens her mother Dorothy Hall's world through decades of intimate journals. Dorothy filled her kitchen walls with inspirational sayings and scattered the word "pensar" throughout her home on scraps of paper and pamphlets. She believed deeply in the power of thought. After Dorothy's death, Keaton discovers her mother's eighty-five diaries containing over a thousand pages of family observations, marriage reflections, and notes about her children. These writings reveal surprising details about Keaton's grandparents and parents that she never knew. Dorothy extracted joy from life until her final days, and her vitality shines through every entry. Keaton weaves her mother's story together with her own Hollywood journey, including the men in her life, her desire for a devoted audience, and her bold acting style that made her a seventies icon. The memoir balances emotion with humor as Keaton celebrates both Dorothy's wisdom and her own path to stardom against the backdrop of Manhattan.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Manhattan
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Paperback · Lumen